Magazine for fastener-applying instruments



Feb. 2, 1943. 2,339,779

MAGAZINE FOR FASTENE'R APPLYING INSTRUMENTS A. H. MAYNARD Original Filed April 2, 1941 ,tures of the present invention;

Patented Feb. 2, 1943 MAGAZINE FOR FASTENER-APPLYIN G INSTRUMENTS Arthur H. Maynard, Warwick, R. 1., assignor to Boston Wire Stitcher Company, Warwick, R. I., a corporation of Maine Original application April 2, 1941, Serial No. 386,488. Divided and this application January 28, 1942, Serial No. 428,584

Claims.

This application is a division of my copending application for United States Letters Patent, Serial No. 386,488, filed April 2, 1941, and relates to Fastener-applying implements. Such implements are adapted for use in attaching papers and other sheets, securing tags and labels to an ticles of commerce and for use generally in fastening and stitching together various objects and articles.

The fastener-applying implement of the present invention is similar in general to that described in my prior U. S. Letters Patent No. 2,264,322 of December 2, 1941, and comprises a base, a magazine-arm and a fastener-applying lever with these elements pivotally connected for relative movement. To load the implement with a supply of fasteners the fastener-applying lever is swung away from the magazine-arm to permit the fasteners to be inserted therein through the open top of the arm. A shear-plate in the magazine-arm cooperates with the front of the magazine to provide a throat through which the fasteners are driven. The implement disclosed in my prior patent, referred to above, is limited to use in applying fasteners of a certain size and accurate dimensions adapted to pass over the shear-plate at the rear of the throat.

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide a construction and arrangement of elements in a fastener-applying implement of the type indicated to adapt the implement foruse with fasteners having legs of different lengths.

Another object is to provide an implement of the type indicated embodying an inclined ramp at the rear of the shear-plate for guiding the fasteners upwardly from the magazine, across the shear-plate and into the throat through which they are driven.

Still another object of the invention is to provide an implement of the type indicated with a strut for bracing the shear-plate against rearward displacement and having a conical flange at the rearward side of the shear-plate to provide a ramp for guiding the fasteners feeding to the throat. I

Further objects of the invention are set forth in the following specification which describes a preferred form of construction of the device, by way of example, as illustrated by the accompanying drawing. In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of a fastenerapplying implement incorporating the novel fea- Fig. 2 is a plan view of the forward end of the magazine-arm showing the hold-down lugs over lying the staples adjacent the shear-plate;

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view taken on line ,33 of Fig. 2 and showing the ramp formed by the conical end of the bracing strut for guiding the fasteners onto the upper edge of the shearplate; and

i 4 is a transverse sectional view taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 2 indicating in dotted lines the conical end of the bracing strut with its periphery in alinement with the upper edge of the shear-' .in that it comprises an auxiliary base 2 of generally rectangular shape on which a fastenerapplying unit 3 is detachably mounted by means of snap-fastening means 4. The fastener-applying unit 3 comprises a base 5 which fits into a recess in the auxiliary base 2, a magazine-arm 6 and a fastener-applying lever l. The base 5 of the fastener-applying unit 3 is provided with an anvil I!) at its forward end with clincher grooves l I formed therein and upright spaced stanchions 12 at its opposite end. The forward edge of one of the stanchions I2 has an inclined cam-face i3 and a latching shoulder M.

The magazine-arm 6 is of channel-shape having a bottom wall [6 and spaced side walls H to adapt U-shaped staples S to be supported therein by the direct'engagement of the ends of their legs I with the bottom wall of the arm and the sides of their legs with the side walls thereof. The rearward end of the magazine-arm 6 is positioned between the upright spaced stanchions [2 on the base 5 and hingedly mounted on a pivot-pin l5 extending transversely through the stanchions and the side walls I! of the arm. The magazinearm 6' is thus mounted for swinging movement toward and. away from the base 5. At its forward end the magazine-arm 6 has its bottom wall it folded upwardly to provide a shear-plate 18, socalled, and the ends 8 of its side walls I? are folded inwardly in spaced relation to the shearplate to provide a passageway or throat [9 therebetween. As herein illustrated the upper edge of the shear-plate I8 is arched as shown in Fig. 4 of the drawing to adapt it to accommodate arched-crown staples of the type illustrated and described in United States Letters Patent No. 2,052,553 to J. F. Cavanagh, dated September 1, 1936. It is to be understood, however, that the upper edge of the shear-plate [8 may be formed straight or of any other shape to accommodate staples of a particular form. A strut 20 arranged with its rearward end seated in a recess 2| in the pivot-pin l has its forward end abutting the rearward face of the shear-plate l8 for bracing the latter against movement rearwardly.

The staples S are adapted to be advanced longitudinally of the magazine-arm 6 by means of a pusher 22 slidably mounted on the strut and urged forwardly by means of a coiled spring 23 encircling the strut. The pusher 22 is provided with a depending detent-lip 25 engageable with the edge of an opening 26 in the bottom wall of the magazine-arm B, see Figs. 1 and 3, to latch it in its retracted position. A pair of rearwardly-extending arms 21 on the pusher 22 provide means for tilting it to release the latching means when the fastener-applying lever l is swung to close the magazine-arm as explained in my prior patent referred to above. One of the side walls of the magazine-arm 6 is provided with a laterally-extending latching shoulder 24.

The fastener-applying lever 1 is of inverted channel shape and of such width as to adapt its depending flanges to straddle the stanchions l2 on the base. The lever 7 is pivotally mounted on the pivot-pin l5, previously described, the ends of which project from the stanchions I2 and through the side flanges of the lever. Slidably mounted on one of the depending sides of the fastener-applying lever l is a latch-plate 30 having an inwardly-projecting latching shoulder SI adapted to underlie the latching shoulder 24 which projects from the side of the magazinearm 6. The construction and arrangement of the slidable latch 30 is such that upon rocking movement of the fastener-applying lever 7 from a raised position to the closed position shown in Fig. 1, the rearward end of the latch-plate will engage the inclined cam-face [3 on the stanchion !2 of the base 5 to slide it forwardly and cause its inwardly-directed shoulder 31 to underlie the latching shoulder 2 1 on the magazine-arm.

A resilient element 32 in the form -of a leafspring is mounted on the under sideof the fastener-applying lever I with its forward end bent at right-angles to provide a staple-driver '33 for reciprocation in the throat IQ -of the magazinearm 6. The rearward portion 34 of the resilient element 32 is of arcuate shape as illustrated in Fig. 1 to adapt its end to engage the upper edges of the side walls of the magazine-arm 5 and also the upper edges of the stanchions I2 on the base 5 to normally hold the magazine-arm in spaced relation to the base and the fastenerapplying lever l in spaced relation to the magazine-arm. A knob or finger-piece 35 is mounted on the forward end of the fastener-applying lever I and has a stud 36 projecting through the lever and the resilient element 32 with its end riveted to secure the parts in assembled relationship. As thus far described the implement is substantially identical with that illustrated and described in my prior copending application.

In accordance with the present invention an inclined ramp is provided at the rear of the shear-plate 8 for guiding the staples S upwardly across the upper edge of the latter to adapt the implement for use with staples having legs of different lengths.

Although the ramp may be-ifi constructed in other forms, as herein illustrated it is in the form of a frusto-conical enlargement 46 at the forward end of the strut 20 arranged with its forward end in abutting engagement with the rearward face of the shear-plate Is. As shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the forward end of the strut 20 has a centering stud 41 which pro- J'ects into an aperture 48 in the shear-plate l8 and the base of the conical enlargement 46 abuts the rearward face of the shear-plate with its periphery tangential to the upper edge thereof.

Due to its conical form the ramp or enlargement 46 provides a gradual incline from the strut 20 upwardly to the upper edge of the shear-plate l8 to adapt it to guide the staples thereacross as they are advanced by the pusher 22, see Fig. 3.

It will be understood, however, that the staples S are usually attached to each other to provide a self-sustaining stick, in which case the forward end of the stick is guided upwardly by the inclined ramp and the remainder of the stick will extend rearwardly in a straight line from the foremost staple back to the pusher. The foremost staples S in the magazine-arm 6 are restricted in their upward movement by means of hold-down lugs 49 and 50 formed on and projecting inwardly from the side walls H of the arm to overlie the upper edge of the shear-plate 18, see Figs. 2 and 4. The forward edges of the hold-down lugs 29 and 50 also provide guides for the rearward face of the driver 33. One form of the invention having been described in detail, the mode of operation of the implement is as next explained.

To load the implement with a supply of fasteners S the latch 30 is slid rearwardly to release its latching shoulder 3| from the latching shoulder 24 on the magazine-arm 6 and the fastenerapplying lever 1 is swung upwardly from the magazine-arm to open the latter. The pusher 22 is then retracted manually and depressed to engage its depending lip 25 with the edge of the opening 26 in the bottom wall of the magazinearm 6. The supply of staples S, usually in the form of a self-sustained stick, is inserted into the magazine-arm 6 with the ends of the legs of the staples resting on the bottom wall It. The staples S may be of any suitable size with their legs not greater in length than the height of the shear-plate l8, see Fig. 3. After the staples S have been placed in the magazine-arm 6 the fastener-applying lever 1 is rocked back toward the arm and the free end '34 of the resilient element or spring 32 will thus beengaged with the upper edges of the stanchions 12 to slide rearwardly thereon. During the rocking movement of the fastener-applying lever 1 toward the magazine-arm 6 the latch 30 Will be slid forwardly by the cam-edge 13 on the base 5 to-cause its shoulder 3| to underlie the shoulder 24 on the arm. Upon release of the fastener-applying lever 1 the rearward portion 34 of the resilient element 32 bearing against the upper edges of the stanchions I2 will act to raise the fastenerapplying lever 1 to its normal position and, due to the lever being connected to the magazinearm 6 by the latch'30, the arm will be raised to its normal positionshown inFig. 1.

During the upward-movement of the magazinearm 6 the arms 2T-projecting rearwardly from the pusher 22 will be engaged by the free end of the resilient element '32 to rock the pusher to release its depending lip 25 from the latching shoulder 26. The pusher 22 thus 'will be slid forwardly under the action of the "spring 23 to advance the staples toward the throat I9. As the staples are advanced in the magazine-arm 6 the foremost staples will ride up the ramp formed by the conical enlargement 46 on the strut 20 to slide across the upper edge of the shear-plate I8. The endmost staple in the stick will thus be forced into the throat l9 abutting the inwardlyfolded ends 8 of the side walls I1.

The implement may be operated in the usual manner by placing the work to be stapled on the base and depressing the knob 35 to cause the lever I to reciprocate the driver 33 in the throat 19. By this method of operation the staples S may be driven through the work and the ends of their legs clinched by engagement with the grooves II in the anvil l0.

It will be observed from the foregoing specifi cation that the present invention provides a novel means for guiding the fasteners to the throat through which they are driven to adapt the implement to be used with staples having legs of different lengths.

While only one preferred form of the implement is herein illustrated and described, it is to be understood that modifications may be made in the structure and arrangement of the parts of the device without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Therefore, Without limiting myself in this respect, I claim:

1. In a device of the type indicated, a channelshaped magazine for holding a supply of fasteners having crossbars and depending legs, parallel walls at the front of the magazine forming a throat through which the fasteners are driven, and a ramp inclined downwardly and rearwardly from the top of the throat for engagement by the crossbars of the fasteners to guide them upwardly to position them in the throat whereby fasteners having relatively short legs may be lifted and advanced into the throat.

2. In a device of the type indicated, a channelshaped magazine for supporting a supply of U- shaped staples, a wall at the front of the magazine, a second wall spaced rearwardly from the first wall to provide a throat through which the staples are driven, said second wall having its sides spaced from the sides of the magazine to allow the legs of the staples to pass therebetween,

an inclined ramp leading downwardly and rearwardly from the upper edge of the rearward wall into the magazine to adapt it to engage the crossbars of the staples to lift and guide them across the top of the rearward wall as they are fed forwardly in the magazine, and means for feeding the staples lengthwise of the magazine.

3. In a device of the type indicated, a channelshaped magazine having a bottom wall adapted to support a supply of fasteners and a throat through which the fasteners are driven, a plate in the magazine at the rear of the throat, means for advancing the fasteners longitudinally of the magazine, and means abutting the rearward side of the plate for bracing the latter against displacement and having an inclined upper side to provide a ramp for the fasteners feeding to the throat.

4. In a device of the type indicated, a channelshaped magazine having a bottom wall adapted to directly support a supply of fasteners and a throat through which the fasteners are driven, a shear-plate in the magazine at the rear of the throat, a strut having a conical flange at its end abutting the rearward side of the shear-plate with its periphery flush with the upper edge thereof, and means for advancing the fasteners longitudinally of the magazine, said strut being adapted to brace the shear-plate against rearward displacement and said conical flange providing a ramp for guiding the fasteners to the throat.

5. In a device of the type indicated, a channelshaped magazine having a bottom wall adapted to support a supply of fasteners and a throat at one end through which the fasteners are driven, said fasteners having crossbars with depending legs adapted to rest on the bottom wall of the magazine, a plate in the magazine at the rear of the throat, means for advancing the fasteners longitudinally of the magazine, and an inclined ramp extending downwardly and rearwardly from the upper edge of the plate into the magazine for engaging the crossbars of the fasteners to lift and guide them across the upper edge of the plate.

ARTHUR H. MAYNARD. 

